Almost There
by Peachy16
Summary: The trio is in their 7th year. Malfoy is found in the Gryffindor common room, waiting for someone. Fights, fluff, insults galore! H/H, D/G??? plz R/R!
1. The Fight

"Come on Harry, you have to go to practice now!" Hermione shouted at the top her lungs from the common room.  
  
"No! I don't wanna go!" Harry screamed back from behind the closed door of the boys' dorm.  
  
"Oh you stupid git, you sound like my five-year-old cousin!" Hermione was starting to get inpatient now. This had been going on for ten minutes now and they really did need to get to practice. "Harrison James Potter, get your bloody arse down here!"  
  
"Tsk, tsk, such language Granger," said a sly voice from the portrait hole. Hermione spun around, thinking she must be hearing things. But she wasn't. By a tapestry hanging to the right of the door stood her enemy Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Don't look at me like that. It makes me uncomfortable." He stated. Hermione just kept glaring straight at him.  
  
"Get out! Get out of my common room! How did you get in, in the first place?" She said in a low startling voice, slowly she walked towards him with her fists clenched to her side.  
  
"Don't get your knickers in a knot. I was invited to meet someone here and saw you yelling for Potter so I thought I would be polite and say hello. So you can go back to coaxing your little sweetheart out of his bedroom," He said with no emotion while fixing his hair.  
  
"Who in their right mind would invite you in here?" Hermione demanded, a little louder than she intended. She knew someone must have heard.  
  
"Calm down granger, I -" Before he could finish what he was saying Colin, his brother Daniel, Seamus, Lavender and Harry raced down to the common room surrounding Draco. Seamus had his wand out ready and his palms itched in anticipation. He wanted nothing more than to curse Malfoy down to a pile of ash.  
  
"Hermione did Malfoy do anything to you? If he did -"Harry started to say through his clenched teeth.  
  
"Harry no, he didn't."  
  
"Malfoy what in the name of Merlin's beard are you doing here? You should know better than to barge into my place. And if you don't tell me why you are here in five seconds, Seamus will pound your face in while Colin and I hold you down."  
  
"Was that suppose to be a threat Potter? 'Cause let me tell you, an overgrown leprechaun slapping me isn't too scary," Malfoy said with a chuckle. He wasn't even scared, he stood tall with dignity, Hermione thought.  
  
"Alright, Malfoy, enough how the hell did you get in? What kind of Gryffindor would let in Slytherin scum like you?" Lavender said stepping between Seamus and Draco. Seamus looked as if he was going to pounce at any moment.  
  
"I got in because I got the password from the person I am meeting and that is none of your business."  
  
"Get out, now!" Harry yelled.  
  
"No, I was invited here and I am not leaving until my date comes down!" At this point a group of first and second years assembled by the stairs and Ron came through the portrait hole looking confused. Then he spotted Draco, the person he hated more than anyone else. His confused expression quickly changed to a look of loathing.  
  
"Malfoy leave this instant!" Ron shouted from where he was standing, he pushed his way through Colin and Daniel and grabbed Draco's robes. Draco was in shock and Ron easily pushed him against the tapestry. Draco hesitated for a moment, but he snapped out of it and his years of sparing training came into play. He knew Ron was going to hit him and when Ron attempted a blow to his stomach, he blocked it and returned with one of his own.  
  
"Ow." Ron muttered and doubled over. Draco grabbed a bunch of his thick red hair and was going to punch him in the face when Harry and Seamus jumped on him. Hermione and Lavender frantically tried to pull the boys off each other. No matter how much they disliked Malfoy, three on one was low. Lower than any respectable Gryffindor should go when fighting.  
  
Anyone else who was in the dorms came running down and students surrounded the fight from all sides. Professor McGonagall entered the room as if looking for someone then saw what was going on and instantly charmed the dog pile apart. Through all this commotion no one realized Ginny screaming, trying to get to the fight. No one heard her screaming "Draco." 


	2. Dumbledore's Office

"This is unacceptable.I can't believe.you know better.In front of the first years.my best students..," Professor McGonagall stuttered while pacing back and forth in the corridor outside Dumbledore's office. All along the wall Draco, Harry, Ron, Seamus, Hermione and Lavender stood (or leaned) in silence. Hermione shifted uneasily and wiped a single tear from her cheek. She glanced over at Draco who was nursing his busted lip and black eye. She then glanced down the line a little farther to see Harry standing stoically not showing any sign of pain from the bruise on his left cheek.  
  
The door in front of them slowly opened and a gentle voice invited them in. Professor McGonagall led the way and quietly talked to Professor Dumbledore. He nodded his head to what she was saying and frowned slightly.  
  
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, from what your Professor here has told me, you all have had a busy day. Won't you all sit down?" With a wave of his hand four more chairs identical to the two already in his office appeared. The six students sat hesitantly. "Professor why don't you go get a cup of tea, I can handle it from here," he said and Professor McGonagall left room (Harry could have sworn he heard her mumble something that sounded like "Where's my flask?")  
  
"Now, please explain what happened and why. Why don't you start Miss Granger?"  
  
"I was in the common room calling Harry and Draco came and then everyone else did. Of course they all wanted to know why he was there and how a Slytherin got in and Ron walked in. They started yelling and then fighting and Lavender and I tried to pull them apart," she broke into tears at this point and Harry put his hand on hers.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy why were you in the Gryffindor common room?" he asked Draco, who looked frail sitting in the dark office with his pale skin now stained with bruises and blood. He had attempted to fix his hair but it still stuck up in the back. Hermione laughed silently to herself, he usually looked so confident with his ego shining through but sitting there in the headmaster's office he looked like a little boy being scolded for taking a cookie. He was human after all she thought. Her thought process was broken when he finally spoke.  
  
"I was waiting for Ginny. We were going to go out for a butter beer," he said in a shaky voice. He looked over at Ron, who didn't look back. He looked like he was going to explode. He gripped the arms of his chair so hard that his knuckles began to turn white.  
  
"Ok, Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Weasley please don't be so hard on my chair. Thank you. I think I can figure out how the fight started. I know you boys don't get along but really. You are seventh year students, Head Girl and Boy, quidditch captains and players, prefects, role models. The younger students especially look up to you; Harry and Draco. Please, can the fighting stop for your last year with us? Ron you will have two weeks detention, Draco, Seamus and Harry one week, Hermione and Lavender one day. You will all start tonight. Meet Filch in the great hall at eleven. You may go now. Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley please stay a moment and if one of you could send in Miss Weasley, thank you."  
  
"Hermione and Harry walked out hand in hand with Seamus and Lavender talking quietly behind them. As they walked out into the corridor they saw a small girl with flaming hair sitting on the floor.  
  
"Umm, Gin Dumbledore wants to see you," Hermione said. Ginny looked up and whispered a thanks. Harry and Seamus looked away; the look of betrayal could be seen on their faces. Ginny saw that and directed her eyes to the floor; she rushed past them not looking up again.  
  
"How could she?" Seamus said to no one in particular.  
  
"Well, Malfoy is pretty damn hot," Lavender stated with a smirk. Seamus and Harry both glared at her. "What?" she asked innocently. They continued to walk down the corridor and past the great hall without another word, all lost in their own thoughts.  
  
"I need to go to the library," Hermione said suddenly and let go of Harry's hand. She darted down the adjacent hallway. No one said a word; they all knew that meant she needed to be alone and think. 


	3. Corridors

Lavender parted with the boys a few minutes after Hermione did. She headed back to the Gryffindor tower (most likely to gossip, Harry thought) and as the boys headed to the infirmary.  
  
"Mate, don't look so down. Pomfrey can fix you up just fine," Seamus told Harry reassuringly.  
  
"Oh I know. I am not too worried about that," And he wasn't even thinking about that; he was thinking about Ginny. He and Seamus treated her horribly and he felt really bad. Ginny was the closest thing he had ever had for a sister and because of that he felt he had to protect her; to keep her away from gits like Malfoy. But somehow with Ron and him watching her she didn't stay away; after all Malfoy had done to her family and to her friends. Why? Malfoy couldn't possibly like her. He didn't like anyone. She was too good for him. He must be using her, Harry thought and with that thought anger rose up in side of him. If he was using her Harry planned on hexing him down to a pile of ash; no ash was too good for him; down to slime; a pile of.  
  
~*~  
  
Hermione sat in her usual seat in the back of the library. She had a stack of charm books to her right and a stack of history books to the front of her. No one could see her tears this way. She didn't know why she was crying. She had no reason to. Everyone and everything was Ok; just peachy. Her and Harry were going strong. Ron will get over the Draco thing. Her life was good. She was Head Girl. Everything she ever wanted was coming true, yet she cried. The tears flowed down her cheeks until they couldn't any more; until she was just sobbing.  
  
~*~  
  
"Ron please," Ginny said in a weak voice.  
  
"No Gin, just don't talk to me. Just don't!" He said back to her, not even looking over his shoulder. He kept walking with his one and only sister and Malfoy trailing behind. He heard Ginny's sobs and apologizes perfectly well but he couldn't accept them; he couldn't. No she had Malfoy now. If she wanted him, she could have him. This train of thought of Ron's was interrupted by a loud thump from behind him; he turned around quickly and cried out.  
  
Ginny was slumped into what looked like a pile of robes and hair by a suit of arms. She wasn't moving; not even making a sound.  
  
"Ginny!" Draco shouted and threw him self to the ground by her. He shook her arm, trying to get some form of reaction out of her but there was nothing. Ron just stood where he was for a moment; shocked at what he saw.  
  
"Get away from her!" he screamed at Draco and raced over to his unconscious sister. Draco didn't back away. He sat there talking to her; trying to get her to come around. Ron shoved him away from Ginny and grabbed her by the shoulders, looking at her peaceful expression. He then gently laid her down on the cold stone floor and put a loving hand on her face.  
  
Her cheek was like ice to his touch. With her eyes closed and skin so pale she reminded Ron of Snow White when she was in her glass casket; dead. "She isn't dead. She can't be," he said out loud with out knowing it. "Ginny, wake up! Wake up, Gin!" He took her into his arms and buried his face into her scarlet locks. "Please Gin wake up! I am sorry, so sorry." He said in between sobs as he tenderly rocked her back and forth. "Malfoy?" He called out, looking around. "Malfoy, where did you go? How could you leave her? Malfoy!" he screamed, holding Ginny closer to him. "He did this to you. He left us, my precious little Gin, he left you. Don't worry, I will protect you. What else are big brothers for, right? Come on Ginny wake up for me? For me? I'm so very sorry, so sorry." He said with one final sob before he too slipped into unconsciousness. 


End file.
